Margiela Dress
View Similar Items
Margiela Dress
About the Item
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 42 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. This is quite a delicate garment. There are some holes in the garment due to age and the gorgeous delicate silk. Some minor stains that are quite unnoticable.
- Seller Location:Melbourne, AU
- Reference Number:Seller: B0521stDibs: LU84739358392
Maison Martin Margiela
Belgian designer Martin Margiela (b. 1957) — whose life, career, clothing designs and vintage shoes have become cult-collector obsessions — pushed those who attended his shows outside their comfort zones. In the years following his maison's 1988 debut, he toyed with creative and aesthetic paradoxes that persist in fashion today.
Consider the Spring/Summer 2001 shirt patchworked from vintage clothing labels, or his famous corset dresses made from tailoring dummies, from his Fall/Winter 1997 line. Or his oversize collection for Fall/Winter 2000. In 1992, Margiela told Dépêche Mode magazine, “My clothes appeal to women of a certain mindset rather than of a specific age or physique.”
Born in Genk, Belgium, in 1957, Margiela knew he wanted to be a fashion designer after catching glimpses of Parisian fashion on TV as a child. Although his parents discouraged this career choice as an oddly funny aspiration, Margiela enrolled in the fashion program of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. There, he befriended and graduated a year ahead of the Antwerp Six — the acclaimed group of Belgian fashion designers comprising Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee, Dirk Bikkembergs and Dirk Van Saene.
Like many of his contemporaries in the 1980s, Margiela understood Paris fashion but felt a deep resonance with the deconstructed beauty espoused by Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, of Comme des Garçons. Margiela’s fascination with Japan influenced many of his earliest collections and designs, from a dress pieced together from broken plates to his iconic Tabi boots, inspired by the split-toe Japanese worker’s shoe, which dates back to the 15th century. He decided to launch his own line while working for renowned Paris designer Jean Paul Gaultier.
Margiela, Gaultier has often stated, was his best assistant. Even then, the 2019 film Martin Margiela: In His Own Words suggests, he was acutely aware of the widening gulf between the art and the business of fashion.
Margiela’s debut show was nothing short of spectacular. Set in a packed Café de la Gare in the still-seedy Marais district, it was also scandalous to the Parisian fashion set of the time. The designer tore up the conventions of contemporary couture presentations, most notably having his models, plucked from the streets and wearing ink-blotted Tabis, wend their way through the crowd. The show redefined the concept of the runway in a way that would later inspire such designers as Alexander McQueen and Demna Gvasalia.
While the notoriously private designer retired from fashion in 2009, for many Maison Martin Margiela collectors, his pieces capture the irreverence of the postwar, post-punk late 1980s and ’90s. Katy Rodriguez, cofounder of the cult vintage fashion shop Resurrection, is among those who felt a connection to Margiela’s clothing in the subliminal challenges it posed to the time’s beauty norms.
“Growing up in San Francisco and coming out of the end of punk rock, not wanting to be objectified, not wanting to be seen as a sexual object, not wanting your value to be just because you’re pretty — all those clothes played into all of that,” she says. “It really was a reflection of the kind of world the young people I knew at the time wanted to live in.”
Find vintage Maison Martin Margiela boots, evening dresses, jackets and more on 1stDibs.
- Gerard Darel flower dressLocated in Capri, ITGerard Darel flower dress totally made in france in FR size 34Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Exquisite Vintage James Purcell BNWT $2, 300 Gray Pinstripe Dress Black CrystalsBy James PurcellLocated in San Diego, CAStriking vintage 1990s JAMES PURCELL charcoal gray pinstriped dress! Brand new, with original price tags attached of $2,265 (which is equivalent curren...Category
1990s Cocktail Dresses
- Gibo Early 2000s Italian Made Size 40 Black Cut - Out 3/4 Sleeves DressLocated in San Diego, CASexy early 2000s GIBO black cut-out 3/4 sleeves dress ! Features cut-out above the bust that ties at the center. Simply slips over the head and stretches to fit. The perfect little b...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- 1980s Navy Blue Silk Chiffon Couture Ruched Long Sleeve Vintage 80s Gown DressLocated in San Diego, CAIncredible late 11980s navy blue silk chiffon couture quality long sleeve evening gown ! The perfect alternative to black. Features a boned sweetheart bodice. Flower appliqué at left waist. Layers of chiffon on the skirt look...Category
1980s Evening Gowns
$1,181 Sale Price25% Off - 1990s Morgan Le Fay by Liliana Casbal Black Wool Minimalist Vintage 90s DressBy Morgan Le FayLocated in San Diego, CAMinimalist chic at its best in this 1990s MORGAN LE FAY by LILIANA CASBAL black wool sleeveless dress ! This dress is a prime example of the 90s Minimalist...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses
- Jackie Rogers Classic Black Satin Bias Cut DressBy Jackie RogersLocated in West Palm Beach, FLJackie Rogers classic silky black satin bias cut dress from the 1990s. The perfect black dress to dress up with jewelry and or a belt. The dress slips o...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses